Semper Fi?
by EmAino
Summary: (Ch. 13 & 14 up) The relationship between Danny and Ed has always been rocky, but will it reach an explosive end when it appears that McCoy is about to sell out the Montecito? (Complete)
1. Chapter 1: In the Air Tonight

Author's Notes: Insert usual disclaimer about not owning the show nor the characters nor anything involved with the show for that matter...As for whether or not my other story (The Ties That Bind) has happened or not in this universe, I honestly dunno yet...I may mention it, and I may not. Anyway, enjoy!  
  
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Semper Fi?  
  
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Chapter One: In the Air Tonight...  
  
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Stepping out of the fast food restaurant, Danny McCoy sighed and rubbed the weariness from his eyes. The tall, brown-haired man just stopped to get a bite to eat after working overtime at the Montecito Resort and Casino, where he worked as a security guard. However, Danny was more than the average security guard as he was also the protégé of "Big" Ed Deline, the president of day-to-day operations at the casino. An ex-CIA operative, the grim-faced, older man wasn't exactly the warmest person in the world, and expected nothing but the best from his employees. Unfortunately for Danny, nothing he ever seemed to do ever earned Ed's total approval. Tossing his bag away in a nearby trashcan, Danny smiled as he thought about how the old curmudgeon always found some mistake (no matter how trivial) with Danny's work and always felt the need to correct him about it. Laughing to himself, Danny knew that he wasn't completely innocent in all of this, as he would often do things that he knew would antagonize Ed. The love-hate relationship between the two men was exactly what made them such a good team, arguably the best two-man team in Las Vegas.   
  
Glancing at his yellow and black Camero, Danny snapped out his thoughts immediately. A woman about his age dressed in a dark, spaghetti strap, short dress was admiring the vehicle. As an early morning breeze tossed her short brown with blonde streaks hair around, she slowly ran a hand down the hood of the car. Realizing that it was probably just one of the local hookers looking for a good time, Danny sighed and headed over. He would put a stop to this soon enough.   
  
"Can I help you?" Danny asked. The woman turned to look at him, and Danny knew right away that this was no hooker. She couldn't be! She was way too pretty, in Danny's opinion. As her brown eyes looked slowly up and down at him, a seductive grin found its way to her face.   
  
"That depends." she purred back at him as she leaned up against his car. "Would you happen to be Danny McCoy, who works at the Montecito?"   
  
"That's me." Danny nodded, wondering why that mattered.   
  
"Then, I'm in luck." the woman replied, her smile not fading. She looked at him approvingly. "Usually my assignments aren't this good-looking."   
  
"Assignments?" Danny asked, stepping back slightly. "What are you…"   
  
"Don't make this hard." the woman begged as one of her arms disappeared behind Danny. Feeling something reach under his shirt and touch his back, Danny simply stared at the woman in front of him. Her smile faded a little bit as Danny felt a sudden jolt of electricity hit him. Crying out in pain, he fell to the ground instantly, barely conscious.   
  
"What did you…" he groaned as his vision started to blur.   
  
"Be more careful in the future." the woman warned, kneeling down next to him. Some sort of stun gun clenched in one of her hands, and the other reaching into his pants pocket. She pulled out his car keys and cell-phone, which she prompty stuffed in her own pocket. "Or your love of women will be your undoing."   
  
Simply staring in wonder at her, Danny could feel himself slip into a welcoming darkness. Rising to her feet, the woman sighed and motioned to a nearby van. Two burly men came out of it, and picked the lifeless Danny up.  
  
"Hey, it's me." the woman said into her cell-phone as she watched the men put Danny in the passenger seat of his car. "I've got McCoy."   
  
To be continued... 


	2. Chapter 2: Luis' Big Plan

{Author's notes: I guess I just have something about taking first season villians and making them come back to haunt the Montecito crew.:) By the way, hopefully, it'll begin to become clear why I titled this story "Semper Fi?" in this chapter.}   
  
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Chapter Two: Luis' Big Plan  
  
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"You look tired." Luis Perez commented, looking up from his paperwork as Danny walked into his office the previous afternoon. The tall, brown-haired man shot a glance at his friend since childhood as he sat down across from the detective.   
  
"Security's not an easy business." Danny replied with a shrug.   
  
"You think being a cop is?" Luis asked with a grin.   
  
"I didn't say that." Danny yawned as he held up his cell-phone. "I got your message. What's up?" The ex-Marine stretched his arms out above him. "And make it quick. I'm on break, and Ed will kill me if I'm late coming back."   
  
"Just something I thought you'd be interested in." Luis replied as he slid an advanced copy of that next morning's paper across the desk. Interested, Danny picked it up and began looking at the front page. A picture of an older man with curly hair awaited him, and Danny recognized the man immediately. It was the Professor, the head of a known cheating ring that the Montecito had busted a few months prior. Glacing up at the headline, Danny could feel his stomach and heart sink.   
  
"All charges dismissed?" Danny said in disbelief, looking closer at the paper. "How in the hell…"   
  
"My theory is that he bought off the judge." Luis replied, his voice dripping with disdain. "But we don't have any proof of that, nor the resources to pursue it any further." Danny threw the paper back on the desk and put his head in his hands. "I'm afraid that all we can do now, Danny, is wait for him to mess up again and see if we can't make the charges stick this time."   
  
"And meanwhile, he gets to plan and carry out his revenge on the Montecito." Danny groaned, not looking up. He knew that the main targets would be Nessa Holt and Ed, who had conned the Professor into thinking that Nessa was on his side last time. Eventually, this had led to his arrest. "There's got to be something we can do, Luis. There just has to."   
  
"I did think of a plan," Luis admitted with a slight shrug. "But it's risky."   
  
"What?" Danny asked, looking up again.   
  
"We attempt the Nessa con one more time." Luis replied simply.   
  
"He'll never go for it." Danny dismissed, shaking his head.   
  
"He might if the prize is right." Luis argued with a smile. He got up from his seat and walked around over to Danny. "He might not be able to resist if it meant having Ed Deline's own protégé join his team."   
  
"Whoa." Danny said, putting a hand up. He looked skeptically at Luis. "You want me to play the role that Nessa did?" He shook his head again. "It would never work, Luis. It's way too fishy."   
  
"I thought about that." Luis said, sitting on the desk behind him. "You're not going to convince him that you want to switch sides. He's going to convince you to join him."   
  
"What?" a curious Danny asked.   
  
"There's a mole already in his organization." Luis revealed with a smile, "They'll drop hints to him that you're not satisfied with your status at the Montecito." He paused and grinned widely. "Which shouldn't be too hard to believe, given how you and Ed argue."   
  
"Get to the point." Danny replied, returning Luis' grin.   
  
"Well," Luis continued, running a hand through his brown hair. "if I know this guy like I think I do, he won't be able to refuse at least trying to recruit you for his organization." He looked cautiously at Danny. "Which you shouldn't agree to do right away. He'll smell a rat if you do that."   
  
"I know that." Danny waved off, "I do plan on being a little hesistant."   
  
"That comment mean that you're in?" Luis wondered with a smile.   
  
"I'm in." Danny nodded, wondering what in the hell he had just gotten himself into.   
  
To be continued... 


	3. Chapter 3: The Strange Bedroom

{Author's notes: When I originally got the idea for the woman in the parking lot, the person that I saw in my mind as that character was Rebecca Budig from All My Children. So, when it came time to name said woman, I decided to go with a derivative of the name of a certain character that she used to interact with quite frequently (unitl he took an ill-fated trip to a waterfall) as sort of a joke...Of course, this fact isn't really that important to the story and feel free to visualize who you want as the woman. Just thought I'd put it here for anyone interested.}  
  
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Chapter Three: The Strange Bedroom  
  
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Feeling himself land on some sort of soft object, Danny groaned as consciousness slowly returned to him. His eyes were slow to function again, but the senses of touch and hearing came back immediately to the tall, brown-haired man. The only sound heard in the room, besides his own groaning, was the one of footsteps on a hardwood floor leading away from him.   
  
"Thanks again, guys." the woman from the parking lot said in a cheerful tone. Remembering the petite, brown and blonde haired woman, Danny wondered who she was and what she wanted from him. She had referred to him as an assignment. What did that mean? "I would have never gotten him back up here by myself."   
  
"No prob." one of the aforementioned guys replied as another man was heard chuckling.   
  
"Just remember to keep your hands off of him." the chuckling one said as Danny started to get a blurred image of where he was. "The Prof will be wanting pretty boy to be able to think straight, and not be hung up on some hot chick." Hearing the man say the Prof, Danny realized that the Professor had to be involved with this somehow.   
  
"Thanks, Griffith." the woman replied as Danny's vision cleared. He was lying on a queen-sized bed covered with dark, satin sheets. A small table lamp on a dark wood nightstand near the bed was the only light in the darkened room. The door to the room was across from the bed, and as he got to an elbow, Danny could see the woman from the parking lot shutting the door.   
  
"So, you're awake." she commented as she walked back over.   
  
"Who are you?" Danny questioned as the woman sat down next to him. "What do you want from me?"   
  
"Hmm." the woman smiled as she seductively reached under Danny's shirt and massaged his chest. "I doubt that you're clueless as to what a woman would want from you. I've heard that you're quite the ladies' man, Mr. McCoy." Feeling her hand around the button of his pants, Danny finally decided to stop the woman in her tracks. As he wrapped his hand around hers, she promptly let go with a sigh. "However, it's my boss that wants you. I was just assigned the task of getting you." Her brown eyes surveyed him. "I hope I didn't hurt you too bad, but I didn't think you would come willingly."  
  
"I've been through worse." Danny assured with a smile as he thought about the time he had gotten shot in the leg. He raised an eyebrow at the mystery woman. "So, who's your boss?"   
  
"You'll know him when you meet him." the woman smiled back.   
  
"That doesn't tell me a whole hell of a lot." Danny said a bit disappointed. That fact wasn't exactly comforting either as he wasn't exactly short on enemies besides the Professor. He sat up fully and leaned against the headboard. "Speaking of not telling me a whole lot, what's your name?"   
  
"Leah." the woman replied.   
  
"Leah what?" Danny inquired.   
  
"That's all I can tell you for now." Leah smiled as her cell phone made a sound. Frowning, she pulled it out of her pocket and looked at some sort of text message on the screen. As she put it away again, she looked at Danny. "It's time."   
  
"Time for what?" Danny inquired, although he had a sneaking suspicion of what the answer was.   
  
"Time for you to meet him." Leah replied, standing up.   
  
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"Where in the hell is Danny?" Ed Deline barked as he nearly busted the door to the surveillance room open. All chatter in the room stopped immediately as everyone turned to look at the doorway. An intensified anger was present in the older man's cold, blue eyes, and his present scowl seemed more pronounced than usual. As he looked around the dark room, the employees went nervously back to work, and all took a moment to thank God that they weren't the unfortunate soul that Ed was looking for.   
  
"I don't know." a wheelchair bound man named Mitch replied as he turned to face his approaching boss. "I've been trying his house and cell-phone." The dark haired man shook his head. "No response to either one."   
  
"I'm going to kill that kid." Ed muttered to himself as he shook his head slowly. Deline knew that McCoy was probably with some woman someplace, doing something that Ed didn't really want to think about. Rubbing his face in frustration, Ed looked back at Mitch in front of him. "Keep trying periodically, will you?"   
  
"Wait a minute." Ed said, grabbing Mitch's shoulder. The wheelchair bound man looked back at his boss, who was smiling slightly. "If you do get a hold of him, be sure to emphasize that I'm really pissed off at the moment. It'll get him here faster."   
  
"You got it." Mitch agreed with a smile.   
  
To be continued... 


	4. Chapter 4: Playing the Game

Chapter Four: Playing the Game  
  
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Staring at the huge, dark double doors in front of him, the question of him really being able to do this raced through Danny's mind. After all, the Professor was a well-known con artist himself, so he would naturally be suspicious of people. That was coupled with the fact that Nessa had tricked him before into thinking that she wanted to join him. What chance did Danny stand of making the man think that he was on the level? Glancing back at the long hallway behind him, the tall, brown-haired man noticed that Leah was still standing where he had left her a few paces back. With a smile, the petite woman with short brown hair with blonde streaks mouthed the words good luck. Nodding, Danny took a deep breath and opened the doors.   
  
A brick patio sparsely decorated with a few potted plants awaited him on the other side. In the middle of the patio was a white wicker table and two chairs, one of which was occupied by an older man with curly hair. Danny immediately recognized this man as the Professor. A couple of empty wine glasses resting on the table gleamed in the light of the morning sun.   
  
"Mr. McCoy!" the Professor greeted, rising from his seat. "It is an honor to finally meet you officially."   
  
"You." Danny said in a mixture of surprise and anger. While he had to work on the surprise part, the anger came naturally to him. After all, the man standing in front of him was a known enemy of the Montecito, and was out to hurt people who meant a lot to Danny.   
  
Suddenly, the ex-Marine noticed a movement out of the corner of his eye and turned his attention to the roof. A man dressed in black clothing and holding a rifle suddenly ducked behind the chimney again, out of Danny's view. A sniper!   
  
"More troubling are the ones that you can't see." the Professor smiled, noticing Danny's reaction and what had caused it. Looking back at the man in front of him, Danny was definitely more worried than before. Why in the hell were snipers necessary? What was the Professor planning to do? His eyes instinctively darted around the patio, scanning for something he could use for possible cover if need be. "Although, I must admit that I'm impressed. Most people wouldn't have caught that, as obvious as it was, at all." An approving smile appeared on the older man's face. "Must come from your years as a Marine."   
  
"How did you…" a surprised Danny started, looking back at the older man.   
  
"Know about that?" the Professor finished as Danny nodded. "I've done my research on you, Mr. McCoy." Slowly, he sat back down in his chair, facing Danny. The curly haired man casually nodded at the roof. "They are only here to ensure my safety. Keep your cool, and you needn't fear yours." He motioned at the chair across the table from him. "Come and sit down."   
  
Taking one last look at the roof above him, Danny slowly walked over and sat down across from the older man, who was watching him with a look of interest prevalent on his face.   
  
"I suppose you'd like to know what you're doing here, Danny." the Professor started before looking curiously at the younger man. "It is all right if I call you Danny, right?"   
  
"That's my name." Danny shrugged casually. He knew that the Professor would know by now that McCoy really wasn't one for formalities, and would prefer a more casual setting.   
  
"Good." the Professor nodded before continuing on. "You are here, because I've heard strange rumors lately." Danny noticed that the older man began to watch his reactions more closely, so he would have to work harder to make everything seem more realistic. "Rumors that not all is well at the Montecito. Rumors that there is some rift between Ed Deline and his young protégé."   
  
A slightly stunned look quickly appeared on Danny's face as he processed what the older man had just said. It would make the older man think that Danny was surprised that someone knew about that, but in reality, Danny was amazed that Luis' mole had really been able to act so fast. He would have to compliment Perez on his sources.   
  
"That look on your face confirms it." the Professor smiled, "The rumors are true."   
  
"Why do you care?" a curious Danny wondered, "I mean, besides the fact that you want revenge on Ed and the Montecito?"   
  
Saying nothing in response, the Professor simply produced a bottle of wine from a nearby bucket of ice. Pouring himself a glass, he looked carefully at Danny.   
  
"Care for a drink?" the Professor asked.   
  
Looking closely at the glass in front of him, Danny was suddenly suspicious that it had been tampered with in some way. Although there were no visible signs of it, it didn't rule out that it wasn't lined with some sort of nearly invisible drug or poison. Looking at the other man, he simply shook his head.   
  
"Not thirsty?" the Professor inquired, taking the glass away from Danny.   
  
"Unfortunately," Danny replied, nodding at the glass. "I can't be sure that you didn't mess with it in some way."   
  
"Very good." the Professor complimented as he threw the glass on the brick patio. As it shattered into numerous pieces, Danny simply stared at the older man in front of him. "That was a test to see what shape your instincts were in. The glass was lined with a colorless, odorless and tasteless poison. Of course, it wasn't enough to kill you, but it was enough to cause you extreme pain for awhile." He looked amazed. "Impeccable! No wonder Ed hired you."   
  
"Thank you." Danny said before frowning slightly. "I'd still like to know what exactly I'm doing here."   
  
"Fair enough." the Professor said before leaning forward. "I want you to join me, Danny."   
  
"Join you?" Danny repeated, hoping he sounded surprised. "Why would I want to do that?"   
  
"I can ensure that you get the one thing you should already have." the Professor replied before smiling. "How does Danny McCoy, president of day-to-day operations at the Montecito sound to you?"   
  
"Ed's job." a surprised Danny realized.  
  
"Exactly." the Professor confirmed.  
  
"So, what would you gain out of all of this?" Danny asked, suspicious of the offer.   
  
"A few things." the Professor revealed before gesturing with his fingers. "First, you allow me to get revenge on the Montecito by pulling one last heist there." He paused and looked sincerely at Danny. "Of course, it would be orchestrated in such a way to guarantee that Mr. Brunson would fire Ed, and promote you."   
  
"What else?" Danny wondered, knowing that that couldn't be all.   
  
"Your vow that, once your position is secured, that you would never help to stop me or my organization in the future and that you would actually provide me with aid from time to time." the Professor replied as Danny nodded. "In return, we would eliminate the Montecito as a target, and I would personally make sure that nothing is ever traced back to you." He looked earnestly at the younger man. "What do you say?"   
  
"This is a lot to think about." Danny said as he leaned back in his chair. "How can I be sure that you'll do what you've said?" He paused and grinned slightly. "And how can you be sure that I'm not just going to tell the authorities what you're planning?"   
  
"Because you can't tell them anything more at this point than they already know." the Professor smiled, "Except for my location, and I'll have moved on before you're out of shooting range anyway." He finally leaned back again in his seat. "We both know that I'm going to make a move against the Montecito, Danny. Either you can be one of the many causalities, or you can gain from this venture."   
  
"I'm going to need some time to think about this." Danny replied, rubbing the back of his neck. Like Luis had said earlier, he knew that it would be too suspicious if he agreed to join right away.   
  
"I understand." the Professor nodded as he rose from his seat. "I will give you a few days to think about what I've just said, but you must promise me that our conversation will never leave this patio."   
  
"Are you kidding?" Danny chuckled, "Ed would kill me if he knew that I had even said hello to you." Getting to his feet, the ex-Marine nodded in agreement. "I promise that I won't say a word to anyone about this."   
  
"That's a good man." the Professor said, clapping Danny on the shoulder. "I will have Leah contact you with the details on how to get a hold of me to let me know what you've decided." He offered his hand. "It has been a pleasure, my young friend."   
  
"Likewise." Danny said, shaking the older man's hand.   
  
To be continued... 


	5. Chapter 5: Failure to Communicate

Chapter Five: Failure to Communicate  
  
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Pulling his car up to the curb at the Montecito, Danny took a moment to glance at the passenger seat next to him. Seeing as how she had taken his car to the meeting place, Leah had left her own vehicle in town. Danny had offered to give her a ride as far as the Montecito when he reported in for work, and the petite, brown (with blonde streaks) haired woman had gratefully accepted.  
  
"Last stop!" the tall, brown-haired man grinned as he shifted his car into park. "Everybody out!"   
  
"Aren't you going to park?" a curious Leah asked as she noticed that the car was still running.   
  
"Nah." a cheerful Danny waved off as a bald, African American man ran up to the passenger's side of the vehicle. "It's what we pay the valets for. Right, Mike?"   
  
"You'd better haul ass to Mr. D's office." Mike Cannon advised as he shook his head. "Dude is about to explode!"   
  
"The whole Professor thing?" Danny guessed, quickly glancing up at the nearby security camera. He knew that his mentor had to be watching as Ed rarely missed anything.   
  
"And your little disappearing act." Mike added as Danny groaned and shook his head. A charming smile found it's way to Mike's face as he noticed Leah. "I hope my friend here treated you all right." He teasingly glared at Danny. "If not, I'll be glad to pound some sense into him."   
  
"I wouldn't worry, Mike." a woman with dark blonde, shoulder-length hair commented as she appeared out of nowhere. Her eyes narrowed at the sight of Danny and Leah. "We both know that Danny knows how to treat a woman."   
  
My day has just gotten worse, Danny thought to himself. The woman was Mary Connell, his best friend since childhood who had always had a crush on him. However, McCoy didn't think that she would let that stop her from strangling either him or Leah at that exact moment.   
  
"I'd better get going." he said quietly to Leah, who was staring at Mary.   
  
"Yeah." Leah agreed as she took one look at Mary's eyes. After the two got out of the yellow and black Camaro, she walked over and planted a kiss on the cheek of the tall, brown-haired man. Her big, brown eyes met his. "I'll be in touch."   
  
"Okay." Danny smiled as Leah waved to both Mike and Mary before continuing out of the parking lot. As he watched her walk away, Danny could feel Mike clamp a hand on his shoulder.   
  
"Remind me to ask you where you found a girl like that." Mike grinned, also watching the petite, brown and blond haired woman walk off. Danny could sense that his best guy friend was a little jealous of him at the moment.   
  
"All right." Danny agreed as a leaving Mike slapped him on the shoulder. Rubbing the back of his head, the ex-Marine turned to see Mary still standing nearby. Her arms were folded tightly across her chest and a disapproving look was very prevalent in her eyes. Not knowing what to say, Danny simply stared back at her. Suddenly, she turned and headed back into the Montecito. Although he knew what sort of conversation would follow, Danny decided to follow her.   
  
"Come on, Mary!" Danny urged, "Talk to me at least."   
  
"I hope that she was worth it." Mary replied, not turning and facing him.   
  
"Worth it?" Danny asked, still tailgating her.  
  
"Whatever Ed is going do to you." Mary clarified.   
  
"It's not like Ed's going to murder me or something, Mary." Danny pointed out at the pair reached the hidden doors that led into the innards of the casino. As the pair finally stopped, Danny sighed. Mary still wasn't looking at him. "It's nothing serious."   
  
Finally, Mary did turn to look at her best friend, and Danny instantly wished that she had remained facing away from him. Concern, sadness, and pain were all present in her eyes, and the ex-Marine could feel guilt immediately pierce his heart.   
  
"It never is." Mary commented as she turned and walked away again.   
  
Watching her walk away, Danny felt the burning desire to go after her, but remained where he stood. He knew that Connell had had feelings for him ever since childhood, and he could admit to himself that he wanted her too. However, part of him had always blocked the ex-Marine from committing to Mary, and wasn't about to yield now. Rubbing the back of his neck, Danny slowly pushed open the doors next to him and headed inside.  
  
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"Well," came the sarcastic voice of Ed Deline as he noticed Danny walking into his office. The grim-faced, older man, who was sitting behind his desk, mockingly seemed impressed and gestured with his hands. "If it isn't the Invisible Man!" Any hint of teasing was suddenly dropped from his voice, as were his hands to the desk in front of him. "Where in the hell have you been, Danny?"   
  
"Busy." Danny quietly shrugged, thinking that it was a good an answer as any. To make their scam on the Professor seem more realistic, Luis and Danny had agreed not to tell Ed, if they didn't have to, until everything had played out. Of course, Danny wondered if he would even still be alive at that point, seeing as how the Professor or Ed himself was likely to kill him.   
  
"Too busy to answer your home or cell phone?" an interested Ed asked with a raised eyebrow. He was skeptical that McCoy would actually be that busy.  
  
"I wasn't at home." Danny replied, sitting down across from Ed. His mind was quickly trying to figure out an excuse as to why he didn't answer his cell phone. He couldn't tell the truth and say that Leah confiscated it. "And I guess I must have turned my cell phone off, or I just didn't hear it."   
  
"So, you were with some girl." a disappointed Ed guessed, leaning back in his chair.  
  
"I'm sorry, Ed." Danny apologized, looking at the floor. "This won't happen again."   
  
"It shouldn't have happened this time, Danny." Ed calmly admonished, "I don't need my second-in-command disappearing on me," He shook his head. "Especially at a time like this."   
  
"I heard about the whole Professor thing." Danny nodded as he spotted that morning's paper on Ed's desk.   
  
"Did you?" Ed asked a bit surprised. "That's, uh, that's very unusual pillow talk."   
  
"Leah wasn't the one to bring it to my attention." Danny corrected, thinking about the events of the previous afternoon and that morning.  
  
"Good to see that you got the first name at least this time." Ed remarked quietly, mistakenly thinking that Danny hadn't heard him.   
  
"What was that?" a slightly angered Danny asked.   
  
"Never mind." an apologetic Ed waved off. "Something I shouldn't have said out loud."   
  
"It bugs me that you're even thinking it." Danny commented, cooling down. He knew that Ed had to be pretty frustrated at the moment, and was looking for an easy target to lash out at. The ex-Marine nodded at the Professor's picture in the paper. "Got any ideas on how to get this guy?"   
  
"Can't get any ideas if I don't know what he's going to do." Ed replied, shaking his head slowly. He sighed deeply in frustration and ran a hand through his gray hair.   
  
Saying nothing, Danny looked away from his mentor. He contemplated relenting and telling the older man about his and Luis' plot, but decided against it. However, Danny found himself wondering what kind of plan Ed would cook up to combat one of his employees turning against him. Especially if it was his own protégé.   
  
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"A girl like that?" an amazed Mike asked in disbelief. "You found a girl like that at a fast food joint? At like 3 am in the morning?"   
  
"Yeah." Danny nodded as they walked around the casino floor. "We just got to talking and it went from there." Noticing Mike looking at him strangely, Danny chuckled and opened his arms innocently. "What?"   
  
"To have your luck and magic." an envious Mike shook his head. Danny was about to reply when he saw Mary walking ahead of them. After clapping the African American man on the shoulder, Danny ran up to his best friend's side.   
  
"You got time to get a bite to eat?" he asked, reaching her side. "I'm on break."   
  
"I see you survived your encounter with Ed." Mary commented with a slight smile, giving no indication that she had even heard his question.   
  
"Yeah." Danny nodded, "What about you? Have you forgiven me?"   
  
"I just wish that you would actually use that brain of yours sometimes, Danny." Mary replied, stopping in her tracks. She turned and looked at him. "Instead of thinking with another part of your anatomy."   
  
"I tried that once." a joking Danny replied, rubbing his forehead for emphasis. "It hurt like a bitch."   
  
Exchanging glances, the two friends since childhood both laughed hysterically at Danny's comment. As she laughed, Mary slipped her hand into her best friend's and squeezed it tightly. Danny's laugh turned into a smile as he noticed this. Feeling him squeeze her hand back, Mary also smiled as the two headed off towards Club Mystique, the casino's restaurant and nightclub.  
  
To be continued... 


	6. Chapter 6: Talking It Out

Chapter Six: Talking It Out  
  
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Coming home to find a police car in his driveway would have been an alarming sight had Danny not known exactly why it was there. Pulling his yellow and black Camaro convertible alongside the parked vehicle, Danny could see Luis sitting on his front step, waiting for him even though it had to be about 3:30 in the morning.   
  
"Hey Luis." Danny greeted, walking over. The tall, brown-haired man hoped that this meeting was brief as he was exhausted from work. To punish him for coming in late and the disappearing act, Ed had assigned Danny just about every tedious task that the security/surveillance team usually did, in addition to his usual routine. It would be awhile before McCoy would forget the sheer boredom he had suffered.   
  
"Hey." Luis greeted back with a smile. "Heard that you had an important meeting yesterday." A cautious look appeared on Danny's face, and he ushered the brown-haired, Latino man quickly into the house. A chuckle escaped the detective. "Relax, Danny! I already checked for spies and bugs. The place is clean. OW!" Luis grabbed his shin as it collided with a table near Danny's front door.   
  
"Sorry." Danny apologized, locking the door behind the two men. "Are you okay?"   
  
"I'll survive." Luis replied, rubbing his shin as the two headed into Danny's living room nearby. McCoy sat down on a blue, overstuffed armchair while Luis made himself comfortable on the sofa. "So, how did it go?"   
  
"Well, I got a stun-gun to the back, and basically kidnapped." a grinning Danny shrugged, "But, that was the worst of it."   
  
"What about the Professor?" an interested Luis inquired.   
  
"We both got what we expected." Danny replied. As a worried look appeared quickly on his face, the ex-Marine leaned forward. "I'm a bit worried though, man. He said that he did his research on me, and that means that he knows how to hurt me if the need arises."   
  
"Don't worry about it." Luis assured, "My mole told me about that, and I've already taken the necessary steps to ensure that your father and Mary remain safe throughout this entire thing."   
  
"Thanks, Luis." a grateful Danny smiled.   
  
"So now, it's on to phase two." Luis announced, standing up. "You officially join the Professor's organization…" As his voice trailed off, Luis rubbed the back of his neck. "And Ed finds out that someone at the Montecito is planning to turn."   
  
"What?" Danny exclaimed in surprise as he jumped to his feet.   
  
"He's not going to find out that it's you yet." Luis assured, calming Danny down. "He'll just find out that someone at the Montecito is planning to join with the Professor. Even Ed Deline will need time to prepare for that, Danny."   
  
"Yeah, you're right." Danny agreed with a nod. He found himself wondering again just what Ed would do to the traitor, especially when he found out that it was Danny. As the countless, gruesome possibilities entered his mind, Danny shuddered and quickly decided not to think about that anymore.   
  
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"What?" the commanding voice of Ed Deline resounded so loudly that it reached from his office to the surveillance room below. A few workers looked up to see what had gotten their boss so riled up, but found that closed mini-blinds blocked their view. Behind the blinds, an angrier than usual looking Ed Deline sat at his desk, and a shocked Danny McCoy sat to the side of it. Both men had their eyes fixed at the remorseful Luis Perez in front of them. Ed swallowed his anger before speaking again. "Who?"   
  
"My source didn't know." Luis replied, clasping his hands together behind him. "All they could tell me was that someone from the Montecito has been seen speaking with the Professor. They couldn't get a positive ID."   
  
"But you and them are working on it, right?" a semi-defeated Danny asked, not taking his eyes off of his friend.   
  
"24/7." Luis nodded as he glanced at his watch. "I've got to be getting back to headquarters, but I'll call and let you know if anything pops up, all right?"   
  
"All right." Danny agreed, getting up from his seat. He walked his friend to the door of Ed's office. "Keep in touch, man."   
  
"I will." Luis said, winking at Danny.   
  
Sighing, Danny shut the door behind his friend and sprinted back up to Ed's office. The older man still sat behind his desk, rubbing his forehead slowly. A pained, yet thoughtful expression on his face. McCoy figured he should say something.   
  
"You would tell me if this was just you playing everyone again, right?"   
  
"Yeah." Ed nodded, dropping his hand to his desk. His blue eyes looked straight into Danny's. "You, uh, you know anything about this?"   
  
"No." Danny replied quickly with no hint that he was lying in his voice…or at least, he hoped. He knew that Ed would pick up on the slightest trace that he was. A grin appeared on his face. "Don't you think that I know better than to unleash the wrath of Ed Deline?"   
  
Saying nothing, Ed simply stared silently back at his young protégé with a weird look in his eyes. Danny could tell the memories of him sleeping with Delinda, and the events of the previous day were playing in the older man's head. The tall, brown-haired man put a hand nervously to the back of his neck.   
  
"Okay then." he said, looking at the floor. "What's our next step?"   
  
"Keep your eyes and ears open while I figure that out." Ed replied, drumming his fingers against his desk. He gestured with his free hand. "Unfortunately for us, we don't know just how high this Montecito mole is on the totem pole."  
  
"For all we know, it could just be a busboy at Mystique." Danny nodded, looking up.  
  
"I don't think the Professor would be aiming that low." Ed shook his head as he reached for something in his desk. "I'm going to phone our friends at the New Orleans Montecito. Have them run background checks on everybody here." He paused and looked at the curious Danny. "I'd have you do it, kid, but I'm going to be needing you for other things and other than you, I don't know who around here I can really trust."   
  
"Sounds good." Danny said, standing up. "I'm going to go walk the floor while you're doing that."   
  
"All right." Ed agreed as Danny walked out of the office. As the door slammed shut behind him, McCoy leaned against it and let out a huge sigh of relief. So far, everything was going as planned, but, being a Vegas native, Danny knew that luck always had a tendency to run out.   
  
To be continued... 


	7. Chapter 7: Good Morning, Mr McCoy!

{Author's note: I meant to have this up sooner, but with one of my best friends being in town for just a week, I didn't have time to really sit down and write anything. Then, I wasn't happy with what I wrote so I had to rewrite. Anyway, thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far. I really appreciate you all taking time out of your lives to do so.}  
  
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Chapter Seven: Good Morning, Mr. McCoy  
  
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The sound of his alarm clock letting out its blaring siren roused Danny from his deep sleep. Not fully awake, the tall, brown-haired man uncurled an arm from around his pillow and slowly reached over to the nightstand next to the bed. However, a foreign hand and arm reached over his body and tapped the snooze button before he could do anything. Instantly waking up, Danny turned over to see a very familiar woman with shoulder length, brown and blonde hair laying next to him in bed. From the looks of it, she was just waking up herself and was wearing nothing under the covers.   
  
"Leah!" Danny exclaimed, sitting up against the headboard.   
  
"Surprised to see me?" she purred, resting her head against his bare chest.   
  
"Well, yeah." Danny replied, as it was the obvious answer.   
  
"Hmm." Leah pouted, slightly offended. "And here I was thinking that last night was pretty memorable."   
  
"Last night?" a puzzled Danny asked, rubbing his forehead. He couldn't remember sleeping with the woman in his bed, but McCoy admitted to himself that he might have done so in a drunken state.   
  
Heading off into a nearby bathroom, the ex-Marine splashed some cold water on his face as he thought back to the previous night. He had come home from the Montecito, ate dinner, got himself caught up on his e-mail, and then went straight to bed. Nothing about alcohol or Leah coming over entered his memory. With a perplexed expression present on his face, he headed back into the bedroom.   
  
"Got you, didn't I?" Leah giggled as she stood by Danny's dresser. Her brown eyes suddenly focused on a picture that was on Danny's dresser. It was of Danny and Mary at one of Mike's infamous barbecues. She picked it up in her hands. "This is the woman from the other day. You've got a lot of pictures of her." She looked up again at Danny, who was throwing some pants on over his boxers. "Who is she?"   
  
"That's Mary, my best friend since I was a kid." Danny replied, sitting down on the edge of his bed.  
  
"And you're just best friends?" Leah inquired with a knowing smile. "Seems like she wants to be more from how she acted the other day." She set the picture down and turned fully around. "How about you? Are you fine with being just best friends?"   
  
"How in the hell did you even get in here?" Danny asked, ignoring her question. With a grin, Leah walked back over to him and pushed the ex-Marine into a laying position. She leaned over him and pinned his shoulders to the bed.   
  
"Try leaving your key in a less obvious place than under the doormat." Leah smiled, pulling Danny's spare key out of her shorts pocket. She quickly put the key on the nightstand before returning her hand to his shoulder. "As for what I'm doing here, you didn't forget that you owe someone an answer, did you?"   
  
"No, I didn't." Danny grinned as he gently flipped the woman over so that they had changed positions. "I've got an answer for him."   
  
"Good." Leah replied, standing as Danny let her up. She walked towards the door. "Well, I'll see you later then."   
  
"Hold on a second." Danny called after the retreating woman. "Don't you want to know what it is?"   
  
"That's between you and him." Leah commented, stopping in the doorway. "I'll get in touch with you later and tell you where and when you're supposed to meet him."   
  
"No stun gun this time?" Danny asked with a smile.   
  
"Nope." Leah promised, returning his smile. "Bye Danny."   
  
As his bedroom door shut behind the petite woman, Danny fell back again on his bed and stared up at his ceiling. It was turning out to be one of those days!   
  
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"What's the latest on the Montecito Mole?" Mary asked as she somehow appeared at the freshly arrived Danny's side just as he was about to enter the door that led to the innards of the Montecito. He immediately paused in his tracks.   
  
"The what?" the puzzled Danny asked, looking at his best friend.   
  
"The traitor." Mary clarified with a chuckle. "Everyone is referring to them as the Montecito Mole." As Danny became even more confused, Mary just smiled. "Ed made the mistake of telling Delinda about it, and you know how she is with secrets."   
  
"She can keep them if she wants to." Danny remarked, thinking about how Delinda had never told him what her last name was or who her father was when they had gotten together. "Montecito Mole, huh? Kinda catchy name." However, the catchiness was kind of ruined when Danny McCoy was placed in front of it. He shrugged at his best friend. "I just got here, so I didn't really know anything more than I did yesterday…which was next to nothing."   
  
"Just thought I'd ask." Mary replied as her eyes surveyed the tall, brown-haired man in front of her. "It's kind of scary thinking that someone we know could be stabbing us in the back."   
  
Saying nothing, Danny simply hugged his best friend back as she leaned in for one. He wondered what she would do when she found out that he was the "traitor". Surely, she would understand when the full story came out, wouldn't she?   
  
"I'm just glad that I know that we can trust you, Danny." she continued, smiling at the warmth of his embrace. "The traitor would never be you. Not in a million years."   
  
As his cell phone rang out, Danny immediately whipped it out of his pocket. He was overjoyed to have some distraction from Mary's comments, as they made him wish that he could tell her right here that it was him and why he was doing it. However, any thoughts were dashed out of his mind as he noticed a strange number on the caller ID, instead of Ed's like he was expecting.   
  
"Danny McCoy." the ex-Marine answered.   
  
"Hmm." came the voice of Leah from the other line. "You sound sexy when you're all serious like that." She giggled slightly. "Did I catch you at a bad time?"   
  
"No, I'm just at work." Danny replied with a shrug as Mary let go of him. "What's up?"   
  
"Just reminding you that I'll meet you for our date in front of the Montecito at five pm." Leah stated as if Danny already knew this information. However, he knew that she was just covering in case someone was listening in to their conversation. "You can make it, right?"   
  
"Yeah." Danny nodded, "Yeah, I'll be there."   
  
"Good." a happy Leah said, "See you then." '  
  
"Yeah." Danny agreed as he hung up his phone.   
  
"Who was that?" an inquisitive Mary asked, looking up at her friend.   
  
"That was Leah." Danny replied, stuffing his phone back into his pocket. "The girl from yesterday."   
  
"Oh." Mary nodded, remembering. "You two going out tonight?"   
  
"If Ed will give me the time off." Danny replied, nodding back. Seeing the slightly upset look in Mary's eyes, Danny immediately shifted his gaze to the floor. "Speaking of that, I'd better be getting upstairs. I'll let you know if I find out anything new."   
  
"Okay." Mary agreed, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Have fun tonight with Leah."  
  
"I will." Danny promised as she walked away.   
  
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"Anything new?" an optimistic Danny asked as he climbed up the last stair into Ed's office. Looking up from paperwork, the grim, older man looked to be stifling the more intense than usual desire to pitch something at the younger man's head. Seeing this, Danny froze in his tracks. "Not good?"   
  
"Big John and his crew ran background checks on every single employee we've had in the database for the past few years." Ed replied before shaking his head. "Dead end."   
  
"Damn." Danny replied as Ed got up and began pacing the room. "Now, what do we do?"   
  
"Make it look like we've got everything under control." a calm Ed replied, staring down at the surveillance room below. "Panicked employees lead to panicked guests, and that's the last thing we need right now." Defeated, the older man leaned an arm against the massive window. "Other than that, not much else we can do, except wait."   
  
"Um, I'm going to need some time off tonight." Danny brought up, deciding to switch subjects. He tapped the tips of his two index fingers together nervously as Ed turned to look at him.   
  
"For?" the older man inquired with a stern look on his face.   
  
"Leah wants to go out." Danny shrugged, sitting on Ed's desk.   
  
"Get your ass of my desk." Ed ordered, nodding at the sitting Danny who stood up immediately. The older man turned back and looked out the window again. "Fine."   
  
"Fine?" a surprised Danny asked, "You're really okay with that?"   
  
"Not exactly." Ed admitted, putting a hand to his gray hair. "But I don't want you to make the same mistakes I've made, kid." A deep, depressed sigh escaped the other man. "Don't neglect the people that you love. Even if that love is only destined to last a few days tops." He waved Danny off. "Go make the best of the time you do plan on spending here."   
  
"Yeah." Danny agreed, heading for the office door.   
  
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Exiting the Montecito hours later, Danny could see Leah, dressed in a short black dress, waiting for him by his car. Ever the flirtatious one, Mike was busy talking to her, and making the brown haired woman giggle about something. Another woman, who also had brown hair and a feisty demeanor about her, was with them. Realizing that it was Sam Marquez, the Montecito's hostess who just happened to be an ex-girlfriend of his, Danny groaned before walking over.   
  
"Here he is now." Leah smiled as Danny arrived.   
  
"Whatever she said about me is a lie." a teasing Danny remarked, pointing at Sam.   
  
"Oh, that's nice." Sam replied, rolling her eyes. "Just make assumptions about me! How do you know that I was talking about your good points?"   
  
"Because I know you like the back of my hand." Danny fired back with a smile. It wasn't a day until he had gotten into one of these arguments with Sam. Although they appeared to have a volatile relationship, they were pretty close, as they both seemed to have left the door open for each other.  
  
"That's right, Danny." Sam sarcastically nodded, "You keep thinking that." The brown-haired woman suddenly looked at her watch. "I'd better be going. The Maloof brothers are going to be here any minute." She smiled at the woman standing next to her. "It was nice to meet you, Leah."   
  
"Nice to meet you too." Leah replied as Sam walked away.   
  
"Even if she is just destined to be another name on Danny McCoy's list of conquests." Sam commented under her breath as she passed by Danny, who frowned at her.   
  
"Well," Leah smiled, leaning up against Danny. "Are you ready to go?"   
  
"Yeah." Danny nodded before looking at Mike. "I'll see you later, man."   
  
"You two, have fun." Mike called after the retreating Danny and Leah.   
  
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Slamming down the phone, Ed sighed in relief and leaned back in his chair. The old bastard had finally shown his face! A contact of Ed's had spotted the Professor at a restaurant just outside of town, where it would be easier to remain anonymous. According to the contact, the curly-haired, older man also appeared to be waiting for a dinner guest, which, as Ed heavily suspected, could be the "Montecito Mole". Wondering why things never usually went this well, Ed picked up his office phone again and started dialing Danny's cell phone number.  
  
He set the phone back down halfway through. Running a hand through his gray hair, Ed stared momentarily off into space. He realized that he had been working Danny rather hard lately, and the younger man was definitely in need of a break. Deline also realized that his young protégé would be almost as recognizable as he himself was, so there was no way he could send him on a covert mission like this. However, Ed would need someone that he could trust and it was a few minutes before the perfect candidate popped into his head.   
  
"Hey." he greeted after dialing another familiar cell phone number. "I need you to do something for me."   
  
To be continued.... 


	8. Chapter 8: Night on the Town

Chapter Eight: Night on the Town  
  
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"Ed ordered you to take me out to an early dinner?" a skeptical Nessa Holt asked, sitting down on one side of the booth. The black, English woman's dark eyes surveyed her companion carefully as she flipped a strand of her straight, shoulder-length hair over her shoulder.   
  
"Well, no." a nervous Mike stammered, putting a hand to the back of his neck. The usually jovial man's mind raced as to how to explain that he thought a dinner out would be a good way to act on his feelings for his female companion. "Ed actually wanted me to come here because the Professor's been spotted here."   
  
"What?" Nessa exclaimed as her eyes began darting around the restaurant. "Where is he?"   
  
"Right there." Mike replied quietly as he pointed through a hole in the shrubbery near their booth. As Nessa peeked through, she could see the older, curly-haired man sitting at a table. A short wall and the aforementioned shrubbery blocked his vision of the booth.  
  
"What's he looking for?" Nessa asked, noticing that the man had begun looking around.   
  
"Mr. D. seems to think that the Montecito Mole will be joining him for dinner." Mike reported as Nessa turned back towards him. He picked up his cell-phone, which had been lying on the table, briefly. "He wants us to call him when the Professor's guest arrives."   
  
Nodding, Nessa turned suddenly as she spotted something out of the corner of her eye. A woman with brown and blonde hair had walked up to the Professor's table with a smile. Not taking her eyes off of the woman, Nessa gestured to Mike, who turned his attention towards the hole.   
  
"What is she doing here?" a stunned Mike asked.   
  
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"Hi." Leah greeted cordially as she sat down in one of the empty seats across from the Professor, who nodded back at her. "We made it on time."   
  
"I had no doubts that you would, Higgins." the Professor smiled back. "And our guest?"   
  
"He's out parking his car." Leah replied, nodding towards the entrance. "He'll be joining us shortly." She paused as she knew the next question she would most likely be asked. "We drove around for a bit in case anyone from the Montecito followed us."   
  
"Good." the Professor nodded in approval.   
  
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"You know that woman?" Nessa asked, not taking her eyes off the pair.   
  
"Yeah." Mike nodded, also still watching. "That's the chick Danny's been seeing lately. The one I told you about." He shook his head. "It makes no sense though that she's his dinner date. She knows next to nothing about the Montecito."   
  
"That because she's not the Montecito Mole." a stunned Nessa suddenly replied as her gaze turned towards the entrance. Her reaction was enough to pique Mike's curiosity, and he looked over just in time to see Danny walking towards the table.   
  
"No…no way." Mike quietly stammered, watching the scene play out in front of him.  
  
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"Hope I didn't take too long." an apologetic Danny said as he sat down at the table. Parking his car hadn't taken long, but the tall, brown-haired man had gotten distracted upon seeing a silver Cadillac Escalade in the parking lot. Mike drove one as well, and Danny wondered if his best guy friend was ironically here on the same night. However, an older, white gentleman had come out and gotten into the vehicle, so Danny's fears had been eased.   
  
"Not at all." the Professor assured, shaking his head. "It is good to see you again, my young friend." A smile appeared on his face and a curious twinkle appeared in his eyes. "So, Leah told me that you have your answer."   
  
"I've thought about it." Danny replied, looking straight into the older man's eyes and offered his hand across the table. "And I've come to the conclusion that joining you is what I have to do."   
  
"Welcome aboard." the Professor replied, shaking Danny's hand.   
  
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"Tell me that I just did not see that." a stunned Mike commented, leaning back against his seat again. The bald, African American man shook his head as he stared at the table in front of him. "Tell me that Danny really isn't the Montecito Mole."   
  
"We both saw it, Mike." Nessa replied as she clearly tried to suppress her anger. "Whether we want to believe it or not, we both saw it." She paused for a brief moment. "The only thing to do now is to call Ed."   
  
"The hell it is!" Mike replied, breaking out of his trance. "Do you realize what Ed's going to do to Danny when he finds out?" The African American man shook his head. "There won't be anything left of him!"   
  
"It's what he deserves, Mike!" Nessa pointed out, gesturing to the hole and Danny outside it. "Now's not exactly the time to be a loyal friend. Make the call!"   
  
Swallowing, Mike nodded and picked up his phone. He could feel a lump form in his throat as he waited patiently for Ed to pick up the other line.   
  
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Noticing Mike's number on his caller ID, Ed immediately grabbed the phone in his office. His heart raced with anticipation as well as dread. The grim, older man realized that part of him was foolishly hoping that someone wasn't really turning against the Montecito, especially someone who was close to him as the Montecito Mole was bound to be. He slowly scooped up the phone.   
  
"Mike." Ed greeted cordially.   
  
"Uh, I just thought you should know that he did meet with the Montecito Mole." a nervous Mike stated as Nessa wrapped her hands around his free one for support.   
  
"Thought so." a solemn Ed nodded, "Who is it?"   
  
Silence.   
  
"Mike?" Ed asked, realizing that this wasn't a good sign.   
  
"It's Danny, Ed." a quiet Mike replied, "Danny McCoy."   
  
"Danny?" a surprised Ed said, immediately sitting in the chair behind him. "Are you sure, Mike?"   
  
"I'm sending you visual." Mike replied as he snapped a picture of the table with his cell-phone camera. It wasn't long before it appeared on the computer monitor in front of Ed. "What are we going to do, Mr. D.?"   
  
"You and Nessa just enjoy your dinner." Ed calmly instructed, not taking his eyes off of the monitor in front of him. "Don't let the kid see you. I don't want him knowing that we're on to him yet."   
  
"Got it, Mr. D." Mike replied as Ed hung up the phone.   
  
Setting the phone back down on the receiver, Ed remained staring silently at the monitor in front of him. How in the hell had this happened? Suddenly standing up, Ed ran a hand through his gray hair and turned away from the monitor. However, the older man's cold, blue eyes found their way back there in a few seconds. They analyzed the happy expressions on both of the Professor and Danny's faces. It was as if they were both in on some private joke. With a growl of rage, Ed threw the monitor off of the desk and to the floor in one swift motion. As it shattered, the seething Deline put his hands on the desk to steady himself and hung his head.   
  
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"You won't regret your decision, Danny." the Professor promised a little bit later over dinner. One of the older man's hands suddenly strayed into his jacket.   
  
"I don't." Danny assured, shaking his head.   
  
"Good." the Professor replied, pulling a photograph out of his jacket.  
  
Taking the photo, Danny looked at it, as did Leah, who was sitting next to him. The tall, brown-haired man immediately recognized the dark blonde woman pictured in it, and he looked back up at the smiling older man in front of him.   
  
"Miss Connell is the other thing that you should already have, my friend." the Professor remarked, resting his elbow on the table. "However, her love is something that you're going to have to earn on your own." He shrugged slightly. "However, in return for you joining my organization, I will personally ensure that she will not be harmed when we make our move on the Montecito."   
  
"Thank you." a grateful Danny nodded, handing the picture back to the older man. His cell-phone suddenly rang out, and the tall, brown-haired man's hand reached immediately into his pocket. He smiled apologetically at the two people near him as he answered it. "Hello?"   
  
"Danny?" the voice on the other line greeted. "It's Mitch." There was a brief pause. "Listen, there's some papers here that need to be signed and faxed over to corporate headquarters, and I can't get a hold of Mr. D." The wheelchair-bound man sighed. "I know that you're on a date and everything, but they need to go out tonight and your signature would be just as good as Ed's."   
  
"I'll be right there." Danny agreed, hanging up. He ran a hand through his hair as he stood up. "Sorry about this, but I'm needed at the Montecito."   
  
"That's quite all right." the Professor assured, putting his hand up. The curly-haired man got to his own feet. "I would like to see you tomorrow, so that we may begin planning."   
  
"Yeah." Danny nodded before turning to Leah, who was also standing. He took her hand in his. "I'm sorry that I wasn't much of a date." A grin appeared on his face. "I can assume that I'll get another visit or phone call tomorrow?"   
  
"Count on it." Leah said as Danny headed for the door. A worried look appeared on her face as she watched him leave. As they sat down again, she turned worriedly towards the Professor. "Something didn't seem right about that."   
  
The Professor was about to respond when Nessa, who had appeared out of nowhere, sat down in Danny's recently vacated seat. Her angry, dark eyes focused squarely on the curly-haired man in front of her.   
  
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"Danny's on his way." Mitch sighed, running a hand through his hair.   
  
"Good." Ed nodded from behind the wheelchair-bound man. "The cameras in the employee parking lot have been cut?" There was an eerie pause. "I don't want there to be any evidence of this."   
  
"They're off until you give the signal." Mitch assured with a nod. "The lot's also been cleared and closed."   
  
"Good." Ed said, heading for the door. "Have someone unlock the door to the inside when I call you."   
  
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"Ah, Ms. Holt!" the smiling Professor greeted with a friendly tone to his voice. "It's always a pleasure to see you."   
  
"I'm not going to rest until I find out how you got to him!" the still-angry Nessa spat, causing the Professor to laugh. Leah simply watched silently on.   
  
"Please!" the Professor still chuckled as he rolled his eyes. "You make it sound like I brainwashed him or something." He stopped laughing and looked seriously at the African American woman in front of him. "Regardless of what you and Big Ed would love to think, McCoy is acting on his own free will." He paused for a moment. "It's not too late for you to do the same, and save yourself…"   
  
"Save myself?" Nessa scoffed before her eyes narrowed in warning. "You should be concerned about saving yourself from the wrath of Ed Deline. He may still show Danny mercy, but I wouldn't count on any for yourself."   
  
"Let's go, Leah." the Professor ordered, standing up.   
  
"I'll be out in a minute." Leah called after the retreating Professor. The petite, brown and blonde haired woman looked to the African American lady next to her with a look of curiosity. "Tell me something. Does Ed Deline know about Danny being the traitor?"   
  
"Yes." Nessa nodded, not relaxing her tone.   
  
Saying nothing, Leah simply got up and walked quickly away from the table. After dodging waiters and several guests, she ducked quickly into the ladies' room. Making sure that no one else was around, she pulled out her cell phone from her purse.   
  
"Luis," she said into the phone. "It's me. We've got a problem."   
  
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"Tell me to come here and sign papers, and don't leave the door unlocked!" Danny grumbled, heading back to his car to fetch his keys. The tall, brown-haired was not in the mood for this. He should still be at the restaurant, convincing the Professor that he was legitimate about joining him. Running a hand through his hair, Danny stopped instantly as he realized that his was the only car in the usual crowded lot. His dark eyes looked around in bewilderment. "What the…"   
  
BAM! McCoy suddenly felt something collide into the back of his skull! A brief pain shot through him and he could feel himself fall to the cold, hard asphalt before darkness swallowed him.   
  
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Feeling something hard against his body, Danny groaned as consciousness slowly returned to him. His first thought was that Leah had just kidnapped him again, but he realized that it couldn't be. She would have never been able to beat him back from the resteraunt, even she did have a vehicle. Was this some sort of intiation from the Professor then? Trying to grab a handful of whatever was under him, Danny's eyes snapped open as he felt the hard ground of the barren deserts that surrounded Las Vegas. As he got to his elbows, the many legends of vigilante justice being carried out in these very deserts raced through his mind. A lump rising in his throat, Danny knew that he was about to become one of these rumors as he had finally noticed the cherry red Hummer H2 that was parked in front of him. The driver's door slowly opened and closed again. The sole passenger stood there, in the now setting sun, with a metal baseball bat in hand, looking like something out of a horror movie.   
  
"You know what I do to people who stab me in the back?" came the angry yet quiet voice of Ed Deline as an approaching thunderstorm rumbled in the distance.   
  
To be continued..... 


	9. Chapter 9: Different Kinds of Pain

Chapter Nine: Different Kinds of Pain  
  
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"You know what I do to people who stab me in the back?" came the angry yet quiet voice of Ed Deline as an approaching thunderstorm rumbled in the distance.   
  
"Ed?" Danny asked, knowing that he had to play innocent. "What are you talking about?"   
  
"I know that it's you, kid." a growling Ed replied as he walked over in front of the younger man, who was still on the ground. "I know that you're the one planning to sell out the Montecito."   
  
"What are you talking about?" a nervous Danny asked, as he really did fear for his life. He wondered how Ed knew this information and if Luis had told him. "I would never…"   
  
"Shut up!" Ed roared, raising the ball bat above his head. The tall, brown-haired ex-Marine cringed in fear as Ed brought it down a few centimeters from him. "Mike and Nessa were at the restaurant tonight. They saw you with him." Throwing the ball bat away, a depressed sigh escaped the older man and the anger in his eyes began to switch to sadness. Danny could tell that his mentor was mentally questioning how it was even possible. It was a moment before the older man spoke again, but his voice was a lot weaker than before. "How in the hell did he get to you?"   
  
"It's nothing personal, Ed." Danny replied quietly as he got to his feet.   
  
"The hell it isn't." Ed finally commented before Danny felt the older man's left fist powerfully connect with his jaw. He staggered back a few steps, and was completely unprepared for when Ed's right collided with his stomach. Holding his abdomen, the ex-Marine sank to his knees immediately with a groan. His blue eyes blazing with hatred, Ed simply watched his protégé as the tall, brown-haired man got back to his feet again. "You sold me out to one of my worst enemies and you don't consider that personal?"   
  
"Considering that it was strictly business, no." a candid Danny replied as he shook his head. Sensing that Ed was about to throw him another left, Danny got his hand up just in time to block another shot to his stomach. Ed pulled his hand away instantly.  
  
"Unfortunately, I still consider it personal." Ed remarked as Danny suddenly felt the older man take his feet out from under him. The tall, brown-haired man landed in a heap on the ground, as Ed's blue eyes narrowed in a look of both sorrow and anger.   
  
The exact details of what happened next were a mystery to Danny. All he could recall later was feeling Ed's feet and hands collide with various parts of his body, mostly his stomach and back as thunder rumbled intermittently in the background. Deline seemed to be avoiding striking his head as he wanted the younger man to be conscious for the entire ordeal. Two distinct thoughts ran through Danny's head as this beating occurred. First, he had to convince himself not to fight back as he realized that it would only make things worse…if that was even possible at this point. Second, he contemplated just coming forward and telling Ed the truth about the whole scam. However, McCoy doubted whether or not Deline would actually believe him, and not think that the younger man was just making it up to get out of this.   
  
"Consider that a taste of what's to come if I ever catch you around the Montecito again." an angry Ed warned with one final kick to the stomach. Rolling on his side, Danny groaned and held his abdomen protectively. He almost wished that he would black out, so that he could escape the pain. "Don't worry about your stuff. I'll make sure that you get it somehow." Chuckling, the older man shrugged. "I'd say that I'd have Mary deliver it, but I'm not sure that even she'll be able to stomach you after this."   
  
Picking up his ball bat, Ed quickly turned and headed back towards his red Hummer H2. After climbing in and setting the ball bat in the passenger seat, Ed took a look out the windshield. He could see Danny on his knees and elbows, slowly trying to get back to his feet. A pang of guilt entered the older man as he suspected that Danny really did have a good reason for doing all of this and that the ex-Marine still faced a many miles walk out of the desert and into town. The already excruciating journey would be made worse by the impending storm and the pain Danny was bound to be in. Could Ed really put a man who was like a son to him through that?  
  
"Get it together, Deline." Ed whispered to himself as he shook his head. Sure, Danny had always been like a son to him, but that son had just stabbed him in the back for reasons the tall, brown-haired man clearly did not want Ed to know about. This torture was well deserved! Slowly, Ed reached over and finally shut the driver's side door before turning the key in the ignition. However, it was a few minutes before the older, gray-haired man could bring himself to turn the huge, red vehicle around and he found himself pressing the gas pedal to the floor.   
  
As the Hummer sped back towards civilization, Danny finally got to his feet. He flinched slightly as his back and stomach reacted to his actions. His hand strayed to his pocket to find his cell-phone, as the tall, brown-haired man really didn't feel much like walking back into town. Even if his Montecito friends wouldn't feel much like helping him out, he knew that he could probably still count on Luis or his father if either one wasn't too busy. Feeling an empty pocket, Danny groaned as he realized that Ed must have taken his phone. Deline really did think of everything.   
  
"God damn it!" he exclaimed in frustration as he kicked the ground under his feel. A flare of pain shot through him, causing Danny to quickly regret his actions. Shaking his head, he slowly started in the same direction Ed's Hummer had disappeared into.   
  
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"God." Danny winced as he sat down against the metal guardrail a few hours later. The tall, brown-haired man took a moment to curse Ed Deline for leaving him so far out in the desert, but he understood why the older man had done so. Ed had wanted him to pay for turning his back on the Montecito, and Danny considered his debt paid with interest. Not only had night fallen (which reduced his chances of being seen by a passing motorist), but also the storm had rolled in, dousing the ex-Marine with rain for the last hour or so. To make matters worse, his jaw, stomach and back all took turns aching from the beating Ed had given him.  
  
Huddling his knees to his chest, Danny vainly stuck his thumb out towards town as he heard a vehicle coming from the direction he assumed Las Vegas was in. As he heard the car stop, he looked back up to see a yellow and black Camaro convertible, with its roof on, parked on the other side of the road. As another burst of thunder rumble, the ex-Marine grabbed the metal guardrail and pushed himself into a standing position. It was only then that Danny noticed the license plates on the vehicle, and realized that it was his car.   
  
The driver's side door opened and the sole passenger silently got out. As a sudden breeze tossed about her long hair, Mary Connell simply stared at the man in front of her with a pokerfaced look in her brown eyes. Realizing who it was, Danny sighed and looked away. He had prepared himself for this moment ever since launching the Professor scam with Luis, but he had foolishly hoped that it would never happen.   
  
"Why, Danny?" Mary asked, not taking her eyes off of him.   
  
"Mary, I…" Danny started but couldn't continue. Realizing that he couldn't bring himself to lie to her, the tall, brown-haired man looked down at the ground.   
  
"I thought something was wrong this morning." Mary said, walking over on to the shoulder with him. Looking up quickly, Danny could now see a few tears escaping her eyes. It was enough to send his gaze back towards the ground. "I thought that something was different about you when I mentioned how the traitor could never be you." She shook her head. "I just dismissed it as you thinking that I was putting you on a pedestal again. Just me being the president of the Danny McCoy fan club." She paused before continuing in a more shakily voice. "And you were right. It was just me stupidly hero-worshiping you like I always do. Stupidly thinking that you wouldn't stab everyone in the back, including me."   
  
"I never meant to hurt you, Mary." Danny replied honestly. "That's the last thing I want."   
  
"So, you sold everyone out to one of our worst enemies and you didn't think that it was going to hurt me?" Mary scoffed, wondering if her best friend had somehow lost his brain.   
  
"I'm just trying to protect you." Danny said, looking back up at her. He wasn't sure just how much more of this he could take. "You and everyone else."   
  
"How?" Mary asked, "How are you protecting us when the Professor wants revenge on the Montecito, and Ed personally?" She sighed and shook her head. "And here I thought that semper fi meant something to you."  
  
"It does!" Danny assured, "It will never not mean anything to me."   
  
"Maybe it does mean something to you now." Mary agreed, narrowing her eyes. "Maybe it means that you'll always be faithful to the Professor…"   
  
"Except for the fact that I'm not really joining with him!" Danny heard himself shout, interrupting Mary's comment. Realizing what he said, the tall, brown-haired man clasped a hand over his mouth.   
  
"What?" a curious Mary asked, looking at him.   
  
"I'm not really joining him, Mary." Danny admitted, realizing that he had to tell her the truth now. "It was just a scam that Luis and I came up with in order to bring him down." Rubbing the back of his head, Danny looked at the ground again and sighed. "Of course, I'll understand if you don't believe that right now, but…"   
  
It was Mary's turn to interrupt him. Silently, she walked over and put a hand on the side of his face. She appeared to be studying his eyes carefully, looking for some sort of sign. A smile quickly appeared on her face, and she slowly wrapped her arms around the surprised man.   
  
"I knew it." she said softly, "I knew that there had to be a reason."   
  
"You believe me?" a surprised Danny asked, "Why?"   
  
"I have my reasons." Mary shrugged, looking at him. Concern flashed in her brown eyes as she surveyed his body. Although his face was beginning to swell slightly where Ed had punched him, the dark-blonde woman knew that his shirt and pants hid the majority of the damage to her best friend. "We should get you to a doctor."   
  
"I don't think that I need to go to the doctor, Mare." Danny waved off; smiling at the concern his best friend was showing him. She had the tendency to overreact whenever she saw that he was injured, but McCoy realized that he would probably do the same in that situation. Hell, if he had anything to say about, Mary would never be anywhere near a situation where she could get hurt.   
  
"How about we go back to my place then?" Mary suggested.   
  
"Your place sounds good." Danny agreed as the two started walking towards the car. The tall, brown-haired man would have rather just gone back to his own home, but he knew that Mary wasn't going to give in until he agreed to let her take care of him. He had already suffered through one battle that he couldn't win tonight, and didn't care to go through a second.   
  
To be continued... 


	10. Chapter 10: Surprises in All Sizes

{Author's notes: AGH...writer's block can be a real pain.}  
  
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Chapter Ten: Surprises in All Sizes  
  
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"I'm afraid that I don't exactly have an ice pack." a smiling Mary apologized, handing Danny a bag of frozen vegetables. The tall, brown-haired man gently put the cold bag up against the left side of his face, and shuddered as it initially touched his skin.   
  
"Thanks." Danny said, smiling at the dark-blonde woman as she sat down next to him.   
  
"Don't mention it." Mary replied, waving him off.   
  
"So, how did you find out?" a curious Danny asked.   
  
"Mike told me that he saw you meet with the Professor." Mary reported, looking to the floor. She shook her head. "No one wanted to believe it, but…" A slight chuckle escaped her. "You should probably stay away from Sam and sharp objects until this blows over."   
  
"Well, I tend to anyway." Danny laughed, although he hurt inside. It killed him that his friends now thought the worst of him. He decided to interrogate Mary further. "How did you know where to find me?"   
  
"I waited for Ed to come back." Mary replied, "I think he expected to run into me, because he told me right away where you were." She paused. "He said that he understood, and that he wouldn't punish me for doing what I was going to do."   
  
"Good man." Danny nodded, taking a minute to silently thank Ed for understanding his relationship with Mary.   
  
"My turn to ask the questions." Mary said, looking up. "What role does Leah have in all of this?"   
  
"Huh?" a surprised Danny asked.   
  
"Come on, Danny." Mary urged, "I know that it just can't be a coincidence that you meet a new woman just as this little charade is going on." Her eyes narrowed. "Who is she really?"   
  
"To tell you the truth, I don't really know too much about her." Danny admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. "She's a liaison between the Professor and myself, and a pretty big flirt." He shrugged his shoulders. "But that's about all I know about her."   
  
"So you two aren't…" Mary started.   
  
"Going out? No." Danny shook his head, "That was just a cover for her contacting me when I was at the Montecito."   
  
"So, you're not going to have a problem turning her in along with the Professor's other henchmen, right?" Mary asked, causing a stunned look to suddenly appear on Danny's face. "Don't tell me that you didn't realize that?"   
  
"Maybe I just preferred not to think about it." Danny stammered, realizing that fact had never even entered his mind. What was he going to do? Sure, Leah wasn't his girlfriend and their relationship had never developed beyond a mutual flirtation, but he couldn't just throw her in prison. He sighed and put his head in his free hand. "What am I going to do?"   
  
"You could warn her before hand." Mary suggested, rubbing his back.   
  
"Or you could just relax." Leah said, shocking both Danny and Mary. Both heads turned to see the brown and blonde haired woman standing just inside the main room of Mary's apartment. A wide grin was present on her face.   
  
"What are you doing here?" Danny asked, wondering how much she had heard. He hoped that she hadn't heard enough to ruin the whole operation.   
  
"Looking for you." Leah replied honestly, "I heard through the grapevine that Ed Deline got his hands on you." A sympathetic look appeared on her face as she noticed the bag of frozen vegetables resting against Danny's jaw. "Sure looks like it."   
  
"Well, I told you that Ed has quite a temper." Luis said as he suddenly appeared behind Leah. The brown-haired, Latino man smiled as curious looks appeared on the faces of his childhood friends. "I suppose that Mary's been briefed about our little scam?"   
  
"What scam?" Danny asked, trying to play innocent in front of Leah and wondering what in the hell had gotten into Luis? Mentioning the scam in front of one of the Professor's people?   
  
"I don't think that he's figured it out." Leah said, looking at Luis.   
  
"Figured what out?" a curious Danny wondered as he suddenly remembered the fact that Luis had another mole in the Professor's organization. "Wait a minute…"   
  
"Lt. Leah Higgins of the Nevada State police department…" Leah started to introduce herself.   
  
"And one of the best undercover cops I've ever seen." Luis added before shaking his head. "I still say that it's a shame we're losing you to the NYPD."   
  
"Sorry about having to trick you." Leah said, looking into Danny's eyes.   
  
"It's all right." a smiling Danny waved off. "I'm just glad that I don't have to turn you in too."   
  
"Like I'd let you." Leah teased as her cell-phone rang off. "Excuse me."   
  
"Sure." Luis said as the petite woman headed off into another room. The cop turned his dark eyes towards Mary, who stood up. "So, he told you everything, huh?"   
  
"Yeah." Mary nodded, "How can I help?"   
  
"I don't think Danny and I want you to…" Luis started.   
  
"Stall Ed from changing the security codes." Danny interjected, looking at the floor. "Especially the one to the vault, since that's probably going to be the Professor's main target." He looked earnestly at Mary. "It should take them a few days to do it anyway, but I want to make sure that we have time."   
  
"Okay." Mary agreed as Leah came back into the room.   
  
"That was the Professor." Leah reported, looking at Danny. "He heard about what Ed did. He ordered me to find you and bring you back to him."   
  
"Then, let's go." Danny agreed, standing up.   
  
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Turning off the speaker, a smiling Ed sat back against the seat and congratulated himself for being wise enough to bug Mary's apartment. Danny wasn't trying to sell him out, but was rather trying to protect the older man. The grim-faced, older man laughed and put his forehead in his hand.   
  
"Stupid kid." he muttered, wondering if Danny knew what he had gotten himself into.   
  
The yellow and black Camaro suddenly pulled out of the driveway, which got Ed's attention. He watched it head down the street, turn left, and speed off towards what Ed assumed was the Professor's base of operations. Sighing, Ed turned the Hummer H2 on and decided to head back to the Montecito. He hoped beyond anything that Mitch and Paulie hadn't gotten started on changing the security codes yet.   
  
"Danny!" Luis shouted, suddenly running out into the driveway. Ed looked over. "Son of a bitch!"   
  
"You've got to stop him, Luis!" a worried Mary said, standing in the doorway. Seeing the panic on her face, Ed immediately pulled his Hummer into her driveway. "Ed? What are you…"   
  
"I bugged your apartment." Ed said, rolling down the driver's side window. "I heard the whole story." His blue eyes focused on Luis. "What's the problem?"   
  
"Traffic control just called me." Luis replied, looking at the older man. "They found a microphone hidden near where Danny told Mary about this whole scam. Upon reviewing the tapes, they discovered that two of the Professor's men were the ones who put it there." He swallowed deeply. "By now, he's bound to know that…"   
  
"Danny's not on the level." Ed said, realizing that McCoy was probably walking right into a trap. His blue eyes widened in fear for a second, before narrowing in determination. "Luis, hurry up and get in. We've got a convertible to catch."   
  
To be continued... 


	11. Chapter 11: Into the Fire

Chapter Eleven: Into the Fire

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"Something's not right." Leah said, her voice loaded with worry as her brown eyes darted around the hallway. After leaving Mary's, she and Danny had returned immediately to the house that was being used as the Professor's base of operations. "This place is usually more active than this. It's practically deserted!" She looked up at Danny. "This isn't a good sign."

"What do you think is up?" an alert Danny asked, pausing in his tracks.

Saying nothing, Leah simply pulled him into a nearby room and shut the door behind them. The tall, brown-haired man immediately recognized the room as the same bedroom he had woken up in when Leah had "kidnapped" him. After locking the door, Leah walked quickly over to the room's sole window and looked outside.

"Damn." she muttered, shaking her head. "That's another bad sign." She turned to the puzzled Danny. "He's got guys guarding your car outside."

"What?" Danny exclaimed, immediately going to Leah's side. Sure enough, as he looked out the window, the tall, brown-haired man could see about five tough-looking guys standing near his yellow and black convertible. It was obvious that they were looking for any sign of movement. McCoy knew that they had to be looking for him specifically. "Obviously, I'm a wanted man."

"You don't think he knows, do you?" Leah asked, looking up into Danny's eyes.

"It's possible." Danny sighed, putting a hand to his forehead. "I wasn't exactly quiet when I told Mary that I wasn't really joining the Professor. Anyone in the general area could have heard me." His brow furrowing in determination, the ex-Marine dropped his hand and turned towards the door again. "Only one thing to do now…"

"Danny, wait!" a worried Leah called, noticing McCoy heading for the door. "Where are you going?" Realizing that her partner was probably going to confront the Professor, the petite, brown and blonde haired woman ran in front of him and blocked the door. "Are you crazy? You can't face him alone! He probably wants you dead!"

"That hasn't stopped me before." a grinning Danny shrugged.

A silent Leah remained blocking the door. Her narrow, brown eyes focused heavily on Danny as she was obviously trying to decide whether or not to let him go. After a few moments, she finally sighed and relaxed.

"You have more balls than brains." she commented quietly as she pulled his head down towards hers and passionately kissed him on the lips. Not knowing why, he kissed her back momentarily before slowly pushing her away from him. An embarrassed smile lingered on her face. "That was purely for good luck…in whatever happens after this."

"I'm pretty sure that I'm going to need it." Danny smiled, heading out the door.

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"Well, it definitely looks like he heard that Danny wasn't on the level." Luis commented, lowering the binoculars from his eyes. The brown-haired, Latino detective's gaze had previously been focused on the group surrounding Danny's car. Frustrated, he put a hand to his forehead. "What do you want to do, Ed?"

"We're not doing anything until we find out where Danny and this Leah are." Ed replied as he parked his Hummer H2 a half of a block down from the Professor's base. The goons surrounding Danny's car didn't seem to realize that Ed and Luis were there, which Ed reasoned was a good thing. The gray-haired man was damned if he was going to give the Professor reason to harm either one of the missing pair…especially Danny.

"Calling them is out of the question." Luis stated as he shook his head. "He's probably monitoring their cell-phones somehow."

Suddenly, a flash of movement in a window upstairs caught the detective's keen eye and he raised the binoculars to his eyes to look. Unnoticed by the men down below, Leah stood there, waving some sort of cloth in the air.

"Leah's in one of the windows." Luis reported, getting Ed's immediate attention. "We need some sort of signal that we can see her, but something our buddies over there won't notice."

"Fortunately for us," Ed grinned, reaching for his headlights. "Those idiots don't seem to bright."

As Ed flashed the Hummer's headlights, the brown and blonde haired policewoman nodded and set the cloth down. Then, using American Sign Language, she signed Danny's name to Luis before mouthing the words "went after" and pointing away from her.

"Danny went after…" Luis muttered to himself as Leah signed her last sign: the letter P. It was enough for Luis to realize where his friend had gone. "Idiot!" The Latino cop slammed down the binoculars. "Danny went after the Professor on his own!"

"I'll never understand that kid's brain." Ed remarked while shaking his head and reaching into his backseat for the ball bat, which was still in there. He silently prayed that whatever was going on, Danny could hold on just a bit longer.

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The question of his ability to do something once again went through Danny's mind as he faced the dark, double doors that led to the patio for a second time. However, instead of wondering whether or not he could make the Professor believe him, the tall, brown-haired man was now wondering if he would survive the night. After glancing back to make sure that Leah hadn't followed him like last time, Danny pushed the doors open and walked out onto the patio, which was only halfway lit by the light escaping from the house behind him. McCoy could just see the outline of the Professor sitting at the table like before.

"And here I thought that semper fi meant something to you…" Mary's voice was suddenly heard saying.

"It does!" Danny's own voice was quick to reply, confirming McCoy's fear that the Professor now knew about his treachery. "It will never not mean anything to me."

"Maybe it does mean something to you now." Mary's voice agreed, ""Maybe it means that you'll always be faithful to the Professor…"

"Except for the fact that I'm not really joining with him!"

"What?"

"I'm not really joining him, Mary. It was just a scam that Luis and I came up with in order to bring him down…"

Two sounds reached Danny's ears simultaneously. A speaker of some sort was heard turning off at the same time that the doors behind him seemed to slam shut. The patio was only rendered dark for a moment, however, before a single shaft of light fell upon McCoy. The half-lit Professor sat, watching Danny's every move. The tall, brown-haired man froze in his tracks with a serious look on his face.

"I knew that you would slip up sooner or later." the Professor commented, "You had been playing the game nicely, Danny, but you were bound to make some sort of mistake." A slight chuckle escaped him. "I always suspected that Mary Connell would somehow be your stumbling block."

"You knew all along?" a surprised Danny asked, wondering if that's what the older man meant.

"Not for sure, but I did suspect." the Professor nodded, "I figured it was only a matter of time before Ed Deline or someone associated with him would try again to succeed where our criminal justice system had not." The older man shook his head. "However, you did surprise me in one area, Danny. I would have never imagined that you would have the chutzpah to do this behind Ed's back." A quiet laugh escaped him. "Seeing as how you're nothing but his pathetic lap dog."

An angered Danny silently readied himself for whatever was to come next, which wasn't an easy task since he suspected that the Professor was bound to kill him right there. As he watched the man in front of him carefully, the tall, brown-haired man found himself thinking of Mary and how much he wished that he could see her smiling face one last time.

"So, the only variable left is what happens now." the Professor said, tapping his fingers against the table. "Regardless of what you might be thinking, you are going to survive this night." He stopped tapping. "Letting you walk out of here would be detrimental to myself and my plan to bring down the Montecito. However, killing you would also be a waste." Another laugh escaped him. "After all, who else am I going to pin this entire thing on?"

"Like anyone's going to believe you." Danny scoffed, rolling his eyes.

"They'll believe this." the Professor said, holding up a computer disk. "I'm afraid that this little disk is only the start of a massive paper trail, Danny. One that should convince any jury in this country that you were the mastermind behind my eventual attack on the Montecito and a few other of my operations." A wicked grin crossed his faces. "It also implicates your friend, Lt. Perez, as a co-conspirator, and it wouldn't take much to add Ms. Connell's name to that as well."

"Leave Luis and Mary out of this." Danny warned as the doors behind him were heard opening. Leah was now standing behind him with pistol drawn and a fiery look in her brown eyes.

"Too bad that disk will add up to nothing." the petite brown and blonde haired woman said confidently as she walked in front of Danny. "Your confession to doctoring evidence throws it completely out of the window." She reached into her pants pocket with one hand and pulled out her badge. "Lt. Leah Higgins of the Nevade State police department. Get your hands up in the air!"

To be continued....


	12. Chapter 12: A Difficult Lesson to Learn

{Author's notes: I apologize deeply for not having this up sooner...however, I've had to do about 15 million rewrites on this part until I got something that I was finally even remotely happy with. I only hope that it was worth the wait.}

Chapter Twelve: A Difficult Lesson to Learn -

Saying nothing, the Professor simply stood up and applauded enthusiastically. Stunned, Leah dropped her aim slightly and glanced at Danny, who was as clueless as she was as to what was happening in front of them. Had the Professor gone mad?  
  
"Bravo, Higgins." the Professor said as he stopped clapping. "It's rare that someone is actually able to pull the wool over my eyes. I would have never assumed that I would have another rat in my organization besides McCoy." He laughed. "However, unfortunately for you, my confession is only good if the party that hears it is able to testify."  
  
A gunshot suddenly rang out and Danny immediately wondered why Leah had seemingly fired her gun prematurely. However, as the sound of a woman screaming entered his ears, the tall, brown-haired man noticed for the first time that the Professor was now holding a smoking pistol in one hand. Connecting that fact with the scream, the ex-Marine barely got his hands out in time to catch Leah before she fell to the ground completely.  
  
"Leah!" the terrified Danny exclaimed as he knelt down and cradled the woman's torso in his arms. Blood was seeping from a wound in her abdomen, right below her heart. Some of it stained Danny's own shirt as he leaned over her. The petite, brown and blonde haired cop struggled for breath and consciousness.  
  
"You've got to stop him, Danny." she managed to say quietly as she looked into the Montecito employee's eyes. "Please…"  
  
Seeing her eyelids slowly close, Danny instinctively reached for a pulse along the woman's neck. There was one, but, to McCoy's dismay, it was extremely weak. He had to get her some help fast!  
  
"Just hang on a little bit more, Leah," he whispered as he gently layed her down on the brick patio. Danny gently brushed her hair out of her face as he did so. Immediately, the tall, brown-haired man stood up and faced the smirking Professor again. His eyes narrowed in fury as he charged forward. "You son of a bitch! You're going to pay for that!"  
  
Danny let out a cry of anger as he attempted to punch the older man with all of his might. However, the Professor was one step ahead of McCoy and easily dodged the blow. As McCoy wobbled forward upon not striking anybody, the Professor rammed the younger man's stomach with the butt of the pistol.  
  
"I told you already, Danny." the Professor calmly smirked as McCoy winced and grabbed his abdomen, which apparently hadn't had time to recover from the fight with Ed yet. "It'll be you that pays for my crimes!" The curly haired man sent the ex-Marine sprawling forward as he hit the back of the younger man's head with the pistol.  
  
Shaking off the hit to the back of the head, Danny opened his eyes to see the barely alive Leah still laying where he had left her, but a pool of blood had now gathered at her side. Although he had no medical degree, McCoy knew that that wasn't a good sign to say the least. His determination to beat the Professor and get out of here was reawakened, and the tall man rolled over on to his back. However, that was the precise opening that the Professor needed to plunge a syringe full of some sort of drug into Danny's arm.  
  
"When you wake up from this, you'll find yourself in the custody of the Nevada State police department," the smiling Professor said, "And I'll be as far away from Vegas as you can imagine."  
  
"You'll never get away with this." an angry Danny shook his head as the Professor gently took the syringe out of his arm. McCoy wanted to fight back, but he was already starting to feel woozy from the drug. He put a hand to his temple, which elicited a laugh from the Professor, who was standing again.  
  
"Yes! By all means, try to fight it, Danny." the older man chuckled as Danny could feel his eyelids get heavier. "Much like our conflict, it's a losing battle!"  
  
"The only loser around here is you!" a cold voice commented as someone hit the Professor from the behind, sending the other man falling forward.  
  
Barely conscious, Danny wondered what had happened and looked to see a familiar looking man with a piercing look in his blue eyes and a ball bat in his hands placing himself in between Danny and the Professor.  
  
"Ed?" Danny asked, trying to clear his now blurring vision. "Is it really…"  
  
"It's going to be all right, kid." Ed nodded, glancing at his protégé, who finally slipped into unconsciousness. "Just enjoy your nap."  
  
Taking his eyes off of Danny, Ed dropped the bat momentarily and yanked the Professor, who was still recovering, to his feet with both hands. As he turned him forcibly around, Deline could see a shocked and almost frightened look on the other man's face.  
  
"Looks like you need the lesson, Professor." Ed commented quietly before punching the other man in the jaw. "Don't ever mess with my employees," He landed another punch to the jaw, sending the Professor to the ground. "Unless you want to me to take it personally!"  
  
It was then that Ed noticed Leah for the first time. A look of sorrow and anger filled the older man's face as he noticed the pool of blood gathering around her abdomen. Still staring at her, he slowly bent down and picked up his ball bat again. As he turned back to the Professor, nothing could be seen in Ed's eyes, except a pure and uncontrolled fury that few had ever survived.  
  
"What are you going to do, Ed?" the Professor asked a bit nervous. He shook his head as he gulped deeply. "You can't kill me!"  
  
"Why not?" Ed asked quietly with a sadistic smile as he motioned to his bat. "I have the means." He nodded to Leah and to Danny. "I have the motive. And since you so kindly took out the only possible witnesses, I have the opportunity." A chuckle escaped the gray-haired man. "You know, I've been in this situation with a couple of other guys before, Professor. Do you know what saved their sorry asses?"  
  
Saying nothing, the terrified Professor slowly shook his head again.  
  
"Danny." Ed replied simply, nodding to his protégé. "Just as I was right about to kill those guys, the kid managed to talk me out of it." Another laugh escaped Ed as he raised the bat above his head. "Unfortunately for you, it doesn't look like that's going to happen this time."  
  
To be continued... 


	13. Chapter 13: The Awakening

{Author's notes: Writer's block, internet problems and my lack of patience dealing said problems = not good. My deepest apologies for how late this is! It wasn't intentional}

Chapter Thirteen: The Awakening

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Danny's first conscious thought was that he had definitely fulfilled his lifelong quota for being knocked out during these past few days. The tall man's second thought was the wish that whatever was throwing the party in his head with the stereo bass up full blast would knock it off. As he opened his eyes, a plain white ceiling came into view, which only revealed to Danny that he had been moved from the patio.  
  
Worry began to wash through the ex-Marine as the Professor's words about being falsely arrested by the Nevada State police department repeated into his mind. Was that were he was now? Hearing the faint sound of someone writing with a pen, the ex-Marine tried to lift his head from the couch he was lying on, but groaned in pain as his body clearly disagreed with that decision. However, he had seen enough to determine that he was laying on the sofa that Ed always kept in his office at the Montecito. The writing stopped instantly.  
  
"About time you woke your lazy ass up." Ed remarked, rolling his desk chair over to the younger man. A smile crossed the older man's face. "How are you feeling, Danny?"  
  
"Like a nuclear war is going on in my head." Danny replied honestly as he put a hand to his temple. "How long have I been out?"  
  
"Just a few hours." Ed answered, glancing at his watch. "You could have been out a lot longer." He shook his gray-haired head. "That was some pretty potent stuff he got you with."  
  
"Hmm." Danny nodded, digesting that information. "What happened after I blacked out?" He dropped his hand after remembering that a ball bat-wielding Ed had been left alone with the Professor. "What did you do to the Professor?"  
  
"Not what I wanted to do." Ed admitted with a grin.  
  
"Meaning?" a curious Danny asked.  
  
"Meaning I came to the realization that his ass wasn't worth the time in jail for assault or possibly murder." Ed shrugged casually, "Our friend is alive and well in the care of the Nevada State police department."  
  
Hearing those last four words, Danny felt a surge of fear fill him as he recalled the paper trail the Professor had fabricated to make it look like Danny was behind all of his crimes. He had to tell Ed before it was too late to do anything about it and the Professor walked free.  
  
"Something wrong?" a concerned Ed asked, noticing that his protégé had tensed up.  
  
"Possibly." Danny admitted, looking into Ed's blue eyes. "The Professor said that he created some sort of paper trail that pins everything on me." McCoy tried to sit up again. "I've got to tell Luis about it before that bastard walks free again."  
  
"Settle down." Ed replied, pinning Danny's shoulder to the couch. "The authorities already know about that." Another grin flashed across the older man's face. "You wouldn't believe how many of his cronies were willing to save their own hides by ratting him out."  
  
"Well, I can't imagine that he attracts the most loyal bunch." Danny chuckled, causing Ed to also laugh. McCoy stopped laughing as the image of Leah lying on the ground, bleeding to death suddenly entered his mind. "How's Leah?"  
  
"I, uh, wish that I had better news to tell you, kid." Ed replied, squeezing Danny's shoulder. "The doctors are doing everything they can for her." The older man paused for a brief moment. "However, she's still unconscious and they don't know…"  
  
"Oh." Danny sighed, looking at his feet. He was thankful that Leah was still alive, and he prayed that she would make a full recovery.  
  
"Why didn't you just tell me what you were doing, Danny?" Ed asked, looking at his protégé.  
  
"It had be realistic, Ed." Danny replied, looking back at his mentor. "It wasn't like when you and Nessa fooled him. He was naturally going to be more suspicious this time." He shook his head. "It was more believable that you didn't know."  
  
"I see." Ed nodded.  
  
"I came close to telling you the truth out in the desert." Danny continued, looking up at the ceiling. "However, I knew that you would probably think that I was just making it up to get out of what you were doing to me." He turned his gaze towards his mentor once more. "I just hope that you and everyone else can forgive me for doing what I did."  
  
"Just never go behind my back again, Danny." Ed warned with a nod. "Or next time, I really will kill you." A smile crossed the older man's face as he stood up. "Why don't you get some more rest up here? I'm going go walk the floor, and see if that fax terminating your suspension has been sent yet."  
  
"Suspension?" a surprised Danny asked, "You didn't fire me?"  
  
"I decided to give you the benefit of the doubt until I heard the whole story." Ed shrugged casually.  
  
"Thanks." Danny said, watching the other man head for the door. "Hey, Ed?"  
  
"Yeah?" Ed replied, stopping in the doorway.  
  
"What happened to your monitor?" a puzzled Danny asked, nodding at the empty space on the older man's desk that was usually occupied by a computer screen.  
  
"Well, you know how frustrated I get with computers, kid." Ed grinned, deciding not to tell Danny about how he had thrown the monitor to floor in a fit of rage.

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A small headache was the only symptom that Danny had a few hours later after a good, long nap in Ed's office. The tall, above-average looking man was forced to wince as he emerged from the innards of the Montecito and onto the noise and light filled casino floor. Feeling someone's hand on his arm, he looked over to see Mary smiling at him.  
  
"You all right?" she asked, surveying his body.  
  
"Just a small headache." Danny replied with a shrug. "But my suspension doesn't clear until tomorrow, so I can't really do anything here anyway."  
  
"You deserve a break." Mary smiled, tightening her friend's loose tie. "You have for quite awhile."  
  
"There you are!" Sam shouted before Danny could respond to Mary's comment. Both heads turned to look at the feisty woman with shoulder length dark hair as she marched over to them and began playfully punching Danny in the arm. "I swear to God, if you ever punk us like that again, I'll…"  
  
"You and all 30 pounds of you will do what?" Danny inquired with a teasing smile. Chuckling, he had to duck as Sam took a swipe at his head.  
  
"Hey, hey, hey!" Mike said, grabbing Sam's arms. "No killing him before I get a chance to apologize!"  
  
"Apologize?" a puzzled Danny asked, looking at Mike. "For what?"  
  
"I'm sorry for turning you in like that, man." Mike replied, shaking his head. "I didn't want to…"  
  
"That's all right, man." Danny waved off as Nessa joined the group. "You two did what you thought was best." He shrugged his shoulders. "Besides, it all worked out in the end anyway, didn't it?"  
  
"It always seems to." Nessa nodded with a smile.  
  
"Just don't expect me to save your ass the next time Ed gets the urge to beat you down." a smiling Danny said, looking directly at Mike.  
  
"Which I might do if you all don't get back to work." the gruff voice of Ed Deline interrupted as the older, gray-haired man walked up behind Mike, Nessa and Sam. He gently clapped a hand on Mike's shoulder. "Last I checked, you three were still on shift, so unless you don't want to get paid…"  
  
Nessa, Sam and Mike quietly dispersed back to their various jobs as Ed turned his unreadable blue eyes on Danny and Mary. The older man simply looked at the younger for a moment, and from the look on his face, Danny knew that Ed was trying to figure out how to phrase something.  
  
"Ed?" Danny urged with a concerned look.  
  
"Luis just called from the hospital…"  
  
To be continued...


	14. Chapter 14: A Happy Ending

  
  
Chapter Fourteen: A Happy Ending 

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Checking the room number out of the corner of his eye, Danny immediately darted into the room and stared at the solitary bed in the midst of all of the equipment. Luis and Mary followed in his wake, and the latter put a supportive hand on her best friend's shoulder.  
  
"Hey." Leah greeted, looking over at them. Her voice was quieter than usual due to her injury and the oxygen mask over her mouth and nose. Her grin widened as the trio walked over and her brown eyes locked on Danny. "I'm glad that you're okay."  
  
"Me?" Danny chuckled, "You're the one that took the bullet. You should be glad that you're okay."  
  
"I'm a cop." Leah replied with a grin. "It's my job to protect innocent civilians." She paused to take a breath. "Luis told me what happened after I got shot. Thank Ed for me."  
  
"Won't you be able to yourself?" a curious Mary inquired, looking at the brown with blonde streaks haired woman.  
  
"It seems that I'm going to be moving to New York before I had planned to." Leah shook her head, "They're transferring me to a specialtyclinic there in a few days." She smiled at the trio. "My family and fiancé are out there anyway, so it won't be too bad."  
  
"We're going to miss you around the department though." Luis commented as a couple of nurses came into the room, looking ready to take Leah somewhere. As they backed out of the room just as quickly, the brown-haired, Latino man hugged the woman gently. Clearly it was the time to say goodbye. "Take care of yourself, and show those NYPD guys what's what."  
  
"I will." Leah agreed as Mary quickly hugged her too.  
  
"Could I…" Danny asked, looking at Mary and Luis.  
  
"We'll be out in the hall." Mary said as the pair departed.  
  
"So, I guess your friends forgave you." Leah assumed, looking at Danny.  
  
"Well, I did get it for pulling the wool over their eyes." Danny replied, rubbing his arm where Sam had hit him. "But, yeah, they forgave me."  
  
"I knew that they would." Leah nodded before groaning slightly. Worried, Danny started to walk over, but Leah waved him off. "Don't worry. It's just my pain meds wearing off." She held up the call button for the nurses. "If it gets too bad, I can just page someone to bring me more."  
  
"I'm so sorry that this happened, Leah." Danny apologized, shaking his head. "You were right. I shouldn't have gone after the Professor solo."  
  
"Ah, something even worse might have happened if you hadn't." Leah shrugged, "It's like a math problem. Different variables give you a different solution." The brown and blonde woman looked sincerely at him. "You know, you would make a pretty decent cop, Danny. You ever given any thought to joining the force?"  
  
"Not really." Danny shook his head, "I'm pretty happy at the Montecito." A laugh escaped him. "Besides, that would mean that Luis would have a higher position than me, and I know he'd use it to his advantage."  
  
"Probably." Leah giggled as the nurses reentered the room. "I guess this is where we say goodbye."  
  
"Yeah." Danny nodded, brushing some of her hair back with his hand.  
  
"I plan on coming back to Vegas someday." Leah revealed with a smile. "I want to show my fiancé the sights."  
  
"You'll have a full comped stay at the Montecito waiting for you." Danny assured, gently hugging Leah. "In the presidential suite if I can swing it."  
  
"Now, there's an incentive." Leah grinned as she hugged back. "Take care of yourself, and tell that girl out there how you really feel about her, okay?"  
  
"I will one day." Danny promised, noticing a smiling Mary watching the pair through the window.

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As the plane taxied on the runway, Leah gripped the side of the stretcher she was laying on. Thinking of how wonderful it would be to finally be back in New York with her fiancé and her family, she closed her eyes for a moment. The minute she opened them again, she happened to notice an unusual patch of yellow and black on the runway, and she lifted her head to look out the window. A huge smile appeared on her features as she noticed Danny sitting on the hood of his yellow and black Camaro convertible, watching as her private plane slowly passed by him. To her puzzlement, he held up what appeared to be the front page of the local paper. Seeing a copy laying on a nearby table, Leah picked it up to read the headline. She then turned her attention back out the window, and gave Danny thumbs up.  
  
Smiling, Danny simply returned the thumbs up as the plane jetted down the runway and into the sky. The brown-haired, handsome man simply stared after it for a moment before hopping into the driver's seat off his car. Before tucking it under a nearby armrest, he looked one more time at the newspaper headline.  
  
"Notorious cheat set to stand trial." he read quietly to himself, chuckling at the huge picture of the Professor underneath. The older, curly-haired man had obviously been trying to block his face from the cameras as he exited the courthouse to no success. Still laughing, Danny finally did tuck the picture under his armrest before starting up his car and heading back into town.

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{Author's notes: Well, here we have reached the end of another one of my stories. I hope you all had just as much fun reading it as I did writing it...well, actually, I hope you enjoyed it more than that :). I have already started working on my next Las Vegas story (which is going to be a comedy, a genre that I haven't really done before, so it should be interesting), but I think that I might take a break before I post it...I want to work on my current All My Children story (which is turning out to be LONG) and I kind of want to see where season two of Vegas goes. Anyway, thank you again.}


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